<> Ask the Pastor Rev. Walter Snyder First of all this week, thank you to everyone who has commented on the column. I appreciate not only the compliments, but also the suggestions. Judging by what I've heard, more people each week are receiving and reading the *Sunday Newsboy*. Personally, I'm happy, because it gives me more people with whom to talk. It's also pleasing as an area resident, since this helps us interact across all of the Lakes area. Q: Some people have told me that the way the day Easter is determined is by what day there is a full moon in March. Is this true? I also wanted to let you know that I find your "Ask the Pastor" wonderful and for all denominations. Not just Lutherans.... Thank you very much. A: You are very much welcome! Basically, you've been told correctly, but there's more to the calculations and a *lot* more to the history. We'll look at the history so as to lead up to our present method of determining when we will celebrate Easter. This also determines when we begin Lent, as last week illustrated. In the early days of the Church, the Good Friday-Easter events were commemorated every week. A vestige of this remains in most churches, with our regular Sunday services. This is why those churches that observe Lent do not include Sundays in its 40 days, since no celebration of the Resurrection, even weekly, well fits a penitential season. It also explains why certain churches fast (or restrict the diet) on Fridays. Every Friday was to be a reminder of the Savior's death, while each Sunday was a new celebration of His resurrection. Later, the Church began to focus on an annual Easter observance. With scattered congregations, differing languages and theologies, and often poor communication, the date of the annual remembrance of the Resurrection was argued about. With all the early Christian defenses of the humanity and the deity of Jesus Christ, you might be surprised to learn that they fought almost as hard over the date of Easter as they did over the person and nature of Christ. Much of the Eastern Church commemorated the *death* of Christ on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Nisan, which could be any day of the week. The West commemorated His death on a Friday and His resurrection on the following Sunday. The Western Church judged that the East's practice focused on His death at the expense of His resurrection. The dispute almost broke the Church apart before the Council of Nicea ruled against the *Quartodecimans* (the 14thers), who were then treated as heretics. The Nicean council then moved to establish one date, based not on the Hebrew calendar and the time of Passover, but on the western calendar. The decree was that Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox - unless that full moon falls on a Sunday, when the date is moved one week later. The date was refined in later days, when our current calendar came into effect. A recent development leads to more "controversy" about the day on which Easter falls. Now that Daylight Savings Time has been extended to the first Sunday in April (instead of the last, as was the rule up to a few years ago), there is a strong possibility that Easter will fall on the first Sunday of April and the first day of Daylight Savings Time in the U.S. The time change always causes problems with people forgetting to reset their clocks and coming to church an hour late, and with those still tired because of a short night's sleep. It becomes even worse when we schedule sunrise services to commemorate the women's early visit to the tomb, and the time change takes away another hour. And yes, this year Easter falls on the 7th of April, which is the first Sunday of April and the first day of Daylight Savings Time. Next week, more of your questions. So "Ask the Pastor" at P.O. Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; e-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or catch me around town. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches, Jasper and Woodville and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1996 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.